


Absolute Beginners

by mycitruspocket



Series: Past and Future Stories from “Of Bikes And Brollies” [4]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Baby Sue, Birthday, Dancing, Family Fluff, Insecure Mycroft, M/M, Paternal Lestrade, Teen Sue, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-18
Updated: 2014-04-18
Packaged: 2018-01-19 20:44:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1483255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mycitruspocket/pseuds/mycitruspocket
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"It’s the first time Greg holds his daughter Susannah in his arms, the first of what he knows will be many over the following years."</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Absolute Beginners

**Author's Note:**

  * For [notluvulongtime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/notluvulongtime/gifts).



> Happy Birthday [notluvulongtime.](http://archiveofourown.org/users/notluvulongtime/pseuds/notluvulongtime) This is for you Kim, because I think Greg’s daughter would be delighted to share a birthday with such an amazing person. :)
> 
> This drabble is written in my Of Bikes and Brollies verse, but can be read as a stand-alone.
> 
> Listen to David Bowie’s 'Absolute Beginners' [here on you tube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBFGzoBkdzI) if you want to increase the fluff level of this fic.
> 
> Many thanks to [Erasmus_Jones.](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Erasmus_Jones/pseuds/Erasmus_Jones), my amazing beta!

It’s the first time Greg holds his daughter Susannah in his arms, the first of what he knows will be many over the following years. He also holds his breath because he knows that whatever happens in the future, this will always be the most important moment in his entire life.

He had been present during the birth, but in the crowded and noisy room everything had been too distracting, he couldn’t really focus. Greg hadn’t been able savour the moment when it happened because he’d held Iris’ hand, stroked her hair and whispered soothing words into her ear, although he had been sure that she wasn’t able to hear him over her own screams.

She sleeps now, her breathing is even and she looks exhausted, but so very happy. Greg is sure she isn’t going to wake anytime soon and he takes his time forming the first threads of an everlasting bond between him and his daughter. Time seems to stand still, nothing matters but her.

He cradles Susannah in his left arm, strokes her cheek with his index finger and she studies his face intently. He knows he’s grinning like a fool and all the while she just keeps on staring at him stoically. She’s going to be a stubborn young lady, he thinks, and wonders if her still blue eyes will turn as dark as his own some day. His finger wanders to her tiny hand, he knows he has large hands but compared to hers they look gigantic. Susannah’s little fingers close around his big one immediately, she is stronger than he had expected and it seems like she just claimed him as her own. She holds on to his finger, doesn’t let go and he hopes that she never will.

Greg is so happy that he wants to dance and let it all out. All the emotions are bubbling up now; the realisation that he is now a father to this tiny bundle in his arms that he and Iris created. Their own little family that brings a whole new purpose to his life. He stands up from the chair beside the bed, walks them over to the window and starts to swing slowly. Susannah’s eyes are no longer on him, she takes in the new surroundings but when he begins to hum, they are back. He doesn’t realise what song he is humming until the first light of the day shines through the window. _Absolute Beginners_ , the song that had been playing on the radio as he drove an already screaming Iris to the hospital through the darken streets of London. He’d never really liked that particular Bowie song, not as much as some of his others, but now he understands, now it has meaning and suddenly it is the most wonderful song in the world.

He wonders if Susannah will like to dance with him when she is older. She certainly likes the swinging and the humming because her legs are kicking in excitement and she makes little noises whilst still holding on to his finger, waving it around uncontrollably.

Chuckling silently, Greg places a soft kiss on her forehead, she closes her eyes at the contact and squeezes his finger even tighter. Swaying slowly, back and forth and left and right with the music in his head, he smiles down at her, whispering words she doesn’t understand yet. But she will one day, she will grow up with them because he will play her song on each and every one of her following birthdays.

_I’ve nothing much to offer_  
 _There’s nothing much to take_  
 _I’m an absolute beginner_  
 _And I’m absolutely sane_  
 _As long as we’re together_  
 _The rest can go to hell_  
 _I absolutely love you_  
 _But we’re absolute beginners_  
 _With eyes completely open_  
 _But nervous all the same_

_*_

It’s her 16th birthday and Sue shrieks in delight when her papa picks her up and swings her around a few times. He always does that when they dance on her birthday, it’s different every year but familiar all the same. He has told her the story of her song many times, and she will never get tired of hearing it, but this time it is the first time Mycroft has heard it and he looks seriously moved by their ritual.

Sue and Greg are singing along loudly, swirling their arms and dancing around each other. Basically, they are just mixing up old, practiced moves and inventing new ones along the way, not caring if they’re in time or matching the melody. From the corner of her eyes she sees how Mycroft watches them from the sofa, although he is smiling to himself he looks a little lonely and out of place, she can’t have someone feel like that on her birthday!

Sue steps towards him, still swinging slightly from foot to foot, and stretches her hand out to him, an encouraging smile plays on her lips because she knows Mycroft will try to refuse her offer. And so he does but she doesn’t let him, instead she grabs his arm and tries to pull him up with force. Papa is laughing behind them and when he comes to help her, there is not much Mycroft can do about it before he’s standing between them, swaying awkwardly to the music. But it doesn’t take long for him to warm up to the situation because their enthusiasm seems to be contagious, soon he joins in their laughter and allows them to move him around however they please.

Best birthday ever, Sue thinks, when after a while Mycroft shows her some very fancy looking dance moves and lifts her up in a very professional fashion. Her song plays on repeat and the birthday presents lying still wrapped and forgotten on the coffee table. This is much more important, it’s tradition, and it’s exactly how being a family should feel.

_Nothing much could happen_  
 _Nothing we can’t shake_  
 _Oh we’re absolute beginners_  
 _With nothing much at stake_  
 _As long as you’re still smiling_  
 _There’ nothing more I need_  
 _I absolutely love you_  
 _But we’re absolute beginners_  
 _But if my love is your love_  
 _We’re certain to succeed_


End file.
